“Scheer is a hard-hitting interviewer . . . his lengthy profiles nicely tease out some compelling complexities in running for and being president.”
—Los Angeles Times

“Robert Scheer brings more credibility than most to this topic. Scheer is a master interviewer.”
—Village Voice

“Scheer is one of those rare journalists who actually hasn’t gone through the looking glass. His insights appear all the more astounding because he stood virtually alone in making them for so long among mainstream journalists. Paul Krugman is his closest counterpart on the East Coast, but Scheer has a bit more instinct . . .”
—BuzzFlash.com

“Veteran journalist Robert Scheer’s subtitle doesn’t begin to suggest the wealth of history captured here . . . This is a fine testament to his career.”
—Chicago Reader

“Impressive . . . Deftly analyzed to create a sound basis for understanding each of these former Presidents, Playing President offers readers a wealth of insights into their lives, minds, and decisions . . . Very strongly recommended.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Robert Scheer is one of the best reporters of our time.”
—Joan Didion

“If anyone has more succinctly stated and summarized the folly we call presidential campaigns, I am not aware of it . . . this book contains one anecdote after another that I delighted in learning . . . [Playing President] is the best summer read I have found . . . one I heartily recommend.”
—John Dean, best-selling author of Conservatives without Conscience

“With these observations on a section of our history, Scheer joins that small group of journalist-historians that includes Richard Rovere, Murray Kempton, and Walter Lippman.”
—Gore Vidal, from the foreword